Dr. Burtron H. Davis of University of Kentucky has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Researcher Award in Petroleum Chemistry from the ACS Energy and Fuels Division. Dr. Davis is internationally recognized for his work in synthetic fuels and catalysis. He has built an outstanding record in various topic areas including Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, dehydrocyclization mechanism, alcohol conversion, direct coal liquefaction, and water-gas-shift reactions. He has shown the ability to pick out problems of both scientific and commercial interest and to come up with definitive and often ingenious ways of providing answers in a definitive manner. He has over 440 peer reviewed publications and over 260 conference papers which are a strong and enduring testimony of his contributions to a wide range of research topics. Dr. Davis has also made important contributions in service to the profession. He has served as Division Secretary for the ACS Petroleum Division and has organized numerous ACS symposia.
Dr. Davis obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Florida and was a Research Associate under Professor Paul H. Emmett at The Johns Hopkins University. Since 1977 Dr. Davis has been serving as an Associate Director for the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky and has been responsible for catalysis, Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis and direct coal liquefaction research. He has been honored as an American Chemical Society Fellow in 2011 and was a recipient of the American Chemical Society's Henry H. Storch Award in Fuel Chemistry in 2002.
University of Kentucky